Category: Uncategorized

I remember the days when twelve-inch vinyl records were commonly referred to as an album. That association became so ingrained with records that some people laughed when CDs were referred to as “albums.” These people missed the big picture: According to the dictionary (the one found on Macintosh computers anyway), an album is defined as “a collection of recordings issued as a single item on CD, record, or another medium.”

Good enough answer, I suppose. The 33 1/3 LP record was invented in 1948; for the first 18 years (or so), that’s all records were; a collection of recordings. As far as pop (and rock) music was concerned, the 45 was king. The album was an afterthought; the songs on an album that weren’t the hits were treated in the same regard as the flip sides to singles.

Then somewhere around 1966 (or so), rock music began to get serious; artists like The Beatles, The Kinks, The Beach Boys and The Who (among others) realized that an entire artistic statement wasn’t limited to the confines of a 7″ 45 RPM record, but to an entire 33 1/3 RPM album. These artists began making records that weren’t simply a couple of hits and a bunch of other songs that weren’t hits, but were a unified collection of songs, each of which was important to the entire statement.

“A Day In The Life”
The Beatles
From Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)

Released on June 1, 1967, Sgt. Pepper (and especially its epic closer, “A Day In The Life”) sounded like nothing else that came before it. The song was John Lennon’s trippy take of stories in a newspaper, including a fatal car crash (the consensus is that the victim was Tara Browne, heir to the Guinness fortune), black holes and a film. (Lennon had recently finished filming Richard Lester’s “How I Won The War”.)

The band’s decision to stop touring and put all of their creative efforts to work in the studio paid immediate dividends. The first post-Candlestick Park gig single, “Strawberry Fields Forever” b/w “Penny Lane” provided the world with one of the greatest singles ever. The band hunkered down in Abbey Road studios and immersed themselves in sonic experimentation. George Martin’s use of echo, the manic drums of Ringo Starr and the wildly innovate use of a symphony orchestra building to climax before Paul McCartney’s “Woke Up” middle eight. Then the songs goes back into the original format, and ends with the obligatory drug reference (“I’d love to turn you on”). And the song concludes with the world’s most famous crashing piano chord – one that seems to go on forever.

Trivia: The final chord in “A Day In The Life” is E major.

“We’re Not Gonna Take It/See Me, Feel Me”
The Who
From Tommy (1969)

With the possible exception of Pink Floyd’s The Wall, Tommy is most celebrated double LP concept album. Tommy, the two-LP album was the brain child of Pete Townsend, The Who’s manic lead guitarist. It told the story of the deaf, dumb and blind kid who played pinball. There were other famous characters; The Acid Queen, Uncle Ernie and Cousin Kevin, among others. Even with a libretto, the story is so dense and complex that the average listener is unable to follow it, much less explain it to others.

No matter. Despite the walls-of-Fort Knox-density of the storyline, the masses have eaten up the album, movie, movie soundtrack, Broadway play, Who tour…It’s no wonder that The Who have milked the hell out of the concept. The greatest moment of the album lies in the second half of the final song; the “See Me Feel Me” section.

While rock fans were crowing over the goosebumps from listening to Crosby, Still and Nash (whose debut was released the same year), they certainly overlooked the equally stunning vocal gymnastics of The Who. And listen to Keith Moon’s chaotic yet restrained drumming!

Trivia: The Who played “See Me Feel Me” at sunrise while appearing at Woodstock on August 17, 1969.

“Brain Damage/Eclipse”
Pink Floyd
From Dark Side Of The Moon (1973)

Britain’s Pink Floyd started life in the mid-1960s as a standard blues band; within a couple of years, led by acid casualty Syd Barrett, it became one of the front runners of the late 1960s psychedelic rock scene. While early Floyd material misses more times than it hits, the band took a great leap forward when it gave its catatonic and marginally-functional leader Barrett the Spanish archer; his replacement David Gilmour was a far better (if not entirely dependable) replacement. Although the money was on keyboardist Richard Wright to assume leadership of the unit, it was bassist Roger Waters that took over, eventually assuming the title of control freak.

Still, it took a few more years (and a few more painful albums) before Floyd made its great statement with Dark Side Of The Moon. The album, whose songs were all based on the passage and time and mental instability, not a common topic in popular music. (There would be plenty more of songs based on those things later on down the line.) Technically, “Brain Damage” and “Eclipse” are two separate songs; but in the grand rock radio tradition, they’re almost always played together.

The band only could manage to release three more albums (including the double LP The Wall) in the following decade; the ensuing split was one of the most bitter divorces in rock. Gilmour, Wright and drummer Nick Mason eventually regrouped as Pink Floyd, while Waters forged ahead with his solo career, releasing music as prickly as himself. None of the subsequent Floyd albums (Wish You Were Here, Animals, The Wall and The Final Cut) had anything close to an epic ending. (In fact, The Wall contains perhaps the lamest ending of any rock album ever. And that includes albums by Warrant and Poison.)

Trivia: The supposed connection between “The Wizard of Oz” and Dark Side of the Moon is false. Stay in school, kids, and keep away from drugs!

“Rocket Queen”
Guns n’ Roses
From Appetite For Destruction (1987)

Unlike Sgt. Pepper, Tommy and Dark Side, Appetite For Destruction isn’t a concept album; it’s a collection of songs with no intertwining storyline. And unlike The Beatles, The Who and Pink Floyd, who all took several albums to get to this point, Guns n’ Roses did it with their debut album. Unfortunately for the Guns, they blew their load early and none of their subsequent releases could come anywhere near the level of Appetite.

Appetite contained songs about arriving to seedy underbelly of Hollywood (“Welcome To The Jungle”), smack addiction (“Mr. Brownstone”), no holes barred sex (“Anything Goes”) and the breakfast of champions (“Nighttrain”). While the world remembers the album for its hit singles: “Jungle,” “Sweet Child O’ Mine” and “Paradise City,” the real centerpiece of the album is the closer, “Rocket Queen.”

Featuring the (reportedly real) moans and groans of Axl Rose and a “friend” having sex, “Rocket Queen” is as dark as sackcloth, yet after Saul Hudson’s (a.k.a. Slash) manic guitar solo, the song goes into perhaps the poppiest portion of the album (excluding “Child”) and ends with an unexpected (if not entirely uncharacteristic) statement of love and concern. A real change from the dark music and lyrics that came before it. It is extremely powerful stuff. If the book of Revelation had a soundtrack, “Rocket Queen” would be it.

Trivia: Appetite For Destruction took thirteen months after its release to top the Billboard charts. (The first of three stays at the top in 1988 – 1989.)

Artists have twenty years to write their first album, and six months to write the second one, Elvis Costello once declared. But then again, David Lee Roth argued that rock critics like Elvis Costello because most rock critics look like Elvis Costello.

Those two statements really have nothing to do with each other, but they do provide a slick intro into this post, namely about trying (and failing) to follow up a hugely successful first album. I would imagine getting to the top of the mountain once is hard enough; doing it twice would be damn near impossible.

All of the three subjects here (all come from the first half of the 1980s) have a lot in common: Like The Knack in 1979, all three of these groups started out with a #1 album; their success somehow annoyed the prevailing rock hierarchy; the less successful follow-up came out far too closely on the heels of the first; they all broke up after releasing a third album that was less successful than the second; and finally, they all eventually regrouped in their classic incarnations to varying degrees of success.

The Go-Go’s
Vacation
#8 (1982)

Coming out of the Los Angeles’ valley, the all-girl band The Go-Go’s took their debut, Beauty and the Beat to #1 in early 1982. Their infectious, pop/punk, surf-y, hook-filled tunes, paired with the party-girl attitude brought fame and acclaim, as well as scorn from the punk rock quarter, accusing them of selling out. Playing the arena circuit, opening for The Police along with their perky videos did nothing but help their quick rise to the top.

Released a mere four months after Beauty topped the charts, Vacation suffered from the classic follow-up disappointment syndrome; it stuck with a tried-and-true formula; only one or two tunes matched the level of material found on the previous album. The one hit, the title track, was the only enduring song from the album.

What happened next: The band wisely waited until 1984 before following up Vacation. While Talk Show featured stronger material (and a new producer), the album was even less successful than the previous two. Founder Jane Wiedlen quit after the tour; before anything else happened, the group called it quits the next year. Vocalist Belinda Carlisle went on to a spectacularly successful solo career; the other members had varying degrees of success in other projects. Their fourth album was released in 2001; they have continued to tour fairly regularly since then.

NOTE: The “official” video for the song “Vacation” is not available on YouTube at time of publication. We apologize for this inconvenience. If the video comes back online, we will insert into this post. Thanks for understanding!

Asia
Alpha
#6 (1983)

Asia, a super group that consisted of former members of Yes, ELP, King Crimson and The Buggles proved that there are second acts in rock by releasing the largest selling album of 1982. Critics loathed Asia as much as the punters gobbled up their debut album, released in March 1982. Videos for “Heat of the Moment” and “Only Time Will Tell” were spun with great enthusiasm on MTV, then a fledgling music channel.

Bowing to the pressure of “let’s do it again,” the band was rushed into the studio in early 1983, while the debut was still hot. Their label, Geffen Records, also insisted that bassist/vocalist John Wetton and keyboardist Geoff Downes (the writing partnership behind the most popular tracks on the debut) do all the composing.

Guitarist Steve Howe, feeling naturally alienated by this provision, hardly makes his presence felt on the album, whose songs all sound like leftovers from the Asia sessions. There were two top 40 singles released; “Don’t Cry” and the fan favorite, “The Smile Has Left Your Eyes.”

What happened next: The ensuing tour was plagued by audience apathy; singer Wetton was given the boot and the MTV-sponsored “Asia in Asia” broadcast in December 1983 featured Greg Lake as bassist/vocalist. Wetton returned the following year, but Howe bowed out. 1985’s Astra was a vast improvement, but it was a case of too little too late, as it peaked at #67, after which they quietly called it a day. The original lineup reunited in 2006 for a series of decently-regarded albums and tours. Bassist/vocalist John Wetton died of cancer in January 2017.

Quiet Riot
Condition Critical
#15 (1984)

Few bands were as universally scorned from the word go as was Quiet Riot, which is a shame, because they put years of blood, sweat and tears into it before they hit paydirt. In the second half of the 1970s, Quiet Riot paid their dues; they were regularly gigging alongside Van Halen on the Sunset Strip scene, but aside from two Japan-only releases, Quiet Riot had nothing to show for all their hard work. To add insult to injury, in 1979, Ozzy Osbourne poached guitarist Randy Rhodes for his solo band, effectively ending Quiet Riot’s career.

After Rhode’s untimely death in 1982, vocalist Kevin DuBrow exhumed the Quiet Riot name and along with guitarist Carlos Cavazo, bassist Rudy Sarzo (also an Osbourne alum) and drummer Frankie Banali, got a deal with Pasha Records, but the label had one demand; that they record a cover of Slade’s “Cum On Feel The Noize” on their North American debut, Metal Health. Agreeing to that (and to a lopsided contract that netted the performers very little for their recorded output) the band duly did what the label requested.

“Noize” became an unexpected top five smash; naturally, the label rushed them back into the studio, following the same blueprint. Like The Go-Go’s, seven months after being #1, a follow-up album was in the stores. This time was almost a clone to the letter; once again, the lead single was a Slade cover. But all the songs, including the single, weren’t as good as any of the material found on Health.

Kevin DuBrow, after years of obscurity, used his time in the spotlight to mouth off about everything and everybody, alienated both fans and peers. Suddenly the band everybody wanted to hate delivered a real reason to hate them, and Condition Critical, although a moderate success, quickly slid off the charts. In the big picture, it had no staying power (except perhaps as a cautionary tale for new artists), and none of the songs had any lasting impact.

What happened next: Bassist Sarzo bailed, and the band attempted a more “contemporary” sound with their 1986 release, QR III. More turbulence ensued, DuBrow was booted before the band imploded. In the mid-1990s, the classic reunited (both onstage and on album), but old habits die hard and once again, the band was plagued with turmoil and lineup changes. Vocalist Kevin DuBrow died of a drug overdose in 2007; today, the band carries on with drummer Banali as the only “classic” member left.

February is the month of love, or at least the month of Valentine’s Day. That’s the “holiday” when people spend way too much money on roses, candy, strawberries dipped in chocolate, lingerie, et al. Fun, eh? But for every happy relationship, there’s the flip side; a heartbreaking split.

As long as people have made music, there have been songs about love and happiness. And then came the songs about relationships that have crashed and burned. There are bouncy, feel-good pop songs that tell the entire story in the title (“Breaking Up Is Hard To Do”), emotive 1970s schlock (“All By Myself”), 1980s power pop nuggets (“The Breakup Song”), no-lifeguard-on-duty tirades (“In The Air Tonight”) and bitter anthems that are actually quite funny (“Love Stinks.”)

So in honor of St. Valentine, I have found the three most depressing breakup songs in my music library.

Don Henley – “You’re Not Drinking Enough”
From Building The Perfect Beast (1984)

Serving as both drummer and (quite often) lead vocalist for the Eagles, Don Henley was already a known quantity when he released his first post-Eagles album in 1982. Although I Can’t Stand Still was moderately successful, it was 1984’s Building The Perfect Beast (and its lead single and video “The Boys Of Summer”) that made him a solo superstar.

Track 4, the country-tinged “You’re Not Drinking Enough,” was penned solely by guitarist (and co-producer of Beast) Danny Kortchmar. It addresses an obviously heartbroken man, who, not able to forget his latest relationship (who, admittedly, was not anything special), needs to be reminded, if he’s not over her, that the problem is that he’s simply not drinking enough. (Hopefully, he’s not driving home.)

Though never released as a single (and overshadowed by Beast’s hits “The Boys Of Summer,” “Not Enough Love In The World,” “All She Wants To Do Is Dance” and “Sunset Grill”), the song later became a modern day country classic when covered by Canadian artist Matt Minglewood.

Trivia: Sam Moore (the Sam of the legendary Sam and Dave) sings harmony vocals on “You’re Not Drinking Enough”

Garbage – “Cup of Coffee”
From Beautiful Garbage (2001)

Garbage was the result of three Midwest studio geeks paired with Shirley Manson, a fiery Scottish vocalist. Paying their dues with the commercially unsuccessful bands Spooner, Goodbye Mr. MacKenzie, Fire Town and Angelfish, Manson (yup, that’s her real last name) and company hit the big time with the release of their debut, 1995’s Garbage.

Alterna-babe Manson attracted attention not only due to her unique looks, but also to her somewhat disturbed lyrics. Who else could only be happy when it rains? No matter how much of a downer the lyrics (and sometimes the music) were, the band has sold more than 17 million albums and has scored countless hit singles worldwide.

“Cup Of Coffee” is a first-person account of an obsessed ex-girlfriend, bordering on stalking. (We’ve all had one of those, right?) But rather than risk a confrontation, she’s content wallowing alone in her misery. Like Don Henley, Garbage’s most depressing song was never issued as a single.

Trivia: Unlucky? Three of the band’s six albums have peaked at #13 in America.
(Self Serving) Trivia: I was at the concert where this video was filmed.

Divinyls – “I’m Jealous”
From Underworld (1996)

The Divinyls – a band from Australia – were regulars on college radio and MTV’s 120 Minutes for their first three albums (1983’s Desperate, 1985’s What A Life! and 1988’s Temperamental), but were not able to break through to the mainstream. (Maybe they were a little too edgy for middle America,  but that’s just my guess.) Whatever the reason, they spent most of the 1980s trapped in cult status.

All of that changed in 1991, when the band (now reduced to the duo of vocalist Christina “Chrissy” Amphlett and guitarist Mark McEntee) finally hit the top ten in America with the not-so-subtle female self-love and self-satisfaction anthem, “I Touch Myself.” Suddenly, the band were stars, all over radio and MTV; most listeners were blissfully unaware of the song’s true nature. (File next to Idol, Billy: “Dancing With Myself” and Lauper, Cyndi; “She Bop.”)

Unfortunately, after that belated success, the band had only one more album left in them, 1996’s Underworld. While the five-year gap between releases probably didn’t help, Underworld didn’t exactly burn up the charts (and never was released in the States and some other territories), it did contain the heartbreaking, straight-to-the-point “I’m Jealous.” The song features the protagonist asking her former flame “What’s she got that I don’t? What she do that I won’t?” Wow…

Like Fleetwood Mac and ABBA, the key members of the Divinyls were a couple during a large portion of their time in the band; similar to those bands, it didn’t work out and ultimately had a negative overall impact on their career. The band split shortly thereafter and the two didn’t speak to each other for over a decade. Sadly, Chrissy Amphlett passed away in 2013, after suffering from MS and breast cancer.

Trivia: The Divinyls regrouped in 2007 for one final single.

Props to Steve Jobs. Even though he (personally) didn’t invent iTunes, he certainly oversaw the project. (And had plenty to say about it.) Say what you want about the digital music age, but one good thing is that you can make playlists (what people called “mixed tapes” in 1985) in seconds rather than real time.

For some reason, I started thinking about songs with the word “game” in the title. (Don’t ask.) I did a search and realized that the first half of the 1980s had an inordinate number of them. This was several years after Eric Berne’s 1964 book “Games People Play” and Joe South’s hippie anthem of the same name from 1968. (Which has been covered countless times in the ensuing years, including, but not limited to The Georgia Satellites, Tesla and Inner Circle.) Not to mention the Alan Parsons Project’s song of the same name.

Queen
“Play The Game”
From The Game (1980)

Mid-1980 was a good time to be Queen. The band had just released its biggest hit to date, the Elvis-influenced “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” in advance of its eighth studio (and ninth overall) album The Game. The second single, “Play The Game” was released concurrently with the album; although the previous single (and eventually the album) both would be #1 hits, “Play The Game” only manage to peak at #42.

Despite the moderate success of the second single, there still was some life left in The Game; the third single, the monster funk/rock track “Another One Bites The Dust” also peaked at #1 and became Queen’s biggest hit single, at least on this side of the pond.
Unfortunately, that was the apex of Queen’s career; no future albums or singles (save for “Bohemian Rhapsody,” reissued after vocalist Freddy Mercury’s death in 1991) ever ventured so high on the charts. In fact, after 1982’s Hot Space fiasco, Queen never toured the United States again.

Trivia: One of Queen’s three September 1980 concerts at Madison Square Garden was my first concert experience.

Peter Gabriel
“Games Without Frontiers”
From Peter Gabriel (1980)

Peter Gabriel has the dubious distinction of having his first three albums self-titled. Whether that was on purpose or he just couldn’t think of appropriate names for them remains an enigma; they are nicknamed Car, Scratch and Melt due to their artwork.

While Peter Gabriel had achieved a solid reputation in the rock world due to his tenure in Genesis, he was hardly a household name. Apart from his debut single “Solsbury Hill,” no track of his was played on the radio. That changed in 1980 when “Games Without Frontiers,” the first single from Melt hit the airwaves.

The unusual song, paired with an equally unusual video, was a large hit in the U.K. (#4), but stalled at #48 in the States, exactly twenty positions higher than “Solsbury Hill.” It would take Gabriel another two years to hit the American Top 40; “Shock The Monkey” peaked at #29 in late 1982.

Trivia: Peter Gabriel reunited with Genesis for exactly one concert in October 1982; the concert was held to pay back Gabriel’s debt for his financially-doomed WOMAD Festival.

Cheap Trick
“Stop This Game”
From All Shook Up (1980)

After years of playing every bar in middle America, Cheap Trick finally began to make some noise nationally following their third album, Heaven Tonight in 1978. An unexpected hit with a live album (At Budokan), a hit follow-up (Dream Police), associated singles and tons of touring in support of all these records finally earned Cheap Trick an A-list band crown.

In 1980, the band hired George Martin to produce the important follow-up to Dream Police. While the resulting album (All Shook Up) has its fans (and just as many detractors), upon release, it fared worse than the two previous albums, despite the potential of the band paired with Martin. Far more disturbing, bassist Tom Petersson exited the band after the album was completed, but before it was released.

“Stop This Game,” the first (and only charting) single from the album, opened with the final chord of The Beatles’ “A Day In The Life” peaked at #48, ending the band’s winning streak of hit singles. It would take eight years, which included the return of Petersson and singles written by outsiders before Cheap Trick made a return to the top of the charts.

Trivia: Cheap Trick at Radio City Music Hall, was the second concert I attended. (February 27, 1981)

Kansas
“Play The Game Tonight”
From Vinyl Confessions (1982)

Kansas, the huge 1970s band from, well, Kansas, found itself in a bit of trouble by the early 1980s. Its brand of prog rock played by hairy guys in overalls, was no longer considered fashionable. (Particularly in the early days of MTV.) To make matters worse, vocalist Steve Walsh elected to go solo after 1980s Audio Visions album and tour.

So in 1982, Kansas’ future was far from certain. With their most recent hit several years in the rearview mirror, the band had to come up with some “A” material. But first there was the pesky task of hiring a new vocalist to replace Walsh. After extensive auditions, the band hired John Elefante and recorded Vinyl Confessions.

Despite the change in members, the band came up with their third biggest hit (after “Dust in the Wind” and “Carry On Wayward Son”) that hit #17, and everybody breathed a sigh of relief. However, none of the reversal of fortune carried over to subsequent singles or the next album, after which the band called it quits. (For three years, anyway.)

Trivia: Rumor has is that Sammy Hagar and future King’s X bassist Doug Pinnick auditioned for the front man role in Kansas.

Survivor
“Caught In The Game”
From Caught In The Game (1983)

Survivor was founded in the late 1970s by a bunch of veteran rockers, led by ex-Ides of March front man, Jim Peterik. After a couple of moderately successful albums (and one top 40 single, “Poor Man’s Son”), the band hit pay dirt with “Eye of the Tiger” from Rocky 3. “Tiger” was the biggest hit of 1982; it has since become synonymous with training and working out, which is probably why it’s the second biggest catalog song in the digital era. (Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” holds the #1 spot in that category.)

After the successful Eye Of The Tiger album and tour, the band returned to the studio to record its victory lap album, Caught In The Game. While Tiger (the album) peaked at #2 (kept out of the top spot by Fleetwood Mac), Game only managed an anemic #82 and the single only dong slightly better, peaking at #77.

Right when the album was released, vocalist Dave Bickler underwent vocal cord surgery and was replaced by Jimi Jameson. The band went through a second successful act, placing several more singles in the top 40 and producing one of the melodic rock genre’s all-time classic albums, 1984’s Vital Signs.

Trivia: Vocalist Dave Bickler was the voice behind Bud Light’s “Real Men of Genius” ad campaign in the 2000s.

Generally speaking, rock bands really don’t last very long without members leaving (or dying) mostly due to an inability to play nicely with others. (Although ZZ Top and U2 might tell you otherwise.) Living, working and traveling with a bunch of dudes is like being married to several others at the same time. Needless to say, whenever bands are involved, there are going to be issues that lead to breakups, firings and the like.

Sometimes, the people who quit (or are fired from) a band use that event as the inspiration for a new song. Today, we’re going to visit five of these departures, all of which have inspired a song based on the split.

Jack Bruce
“Theme For An Imaginary Western”
From Songs For a Tailor (1969)

Representative lyric:

“Oh the dancing and the singing
Oh the music when they played
Oh the fires that they started
Oh the girls with no regret”

For a couple of years in the pre-Led Zeppelin late 1960s, no touring blues-based rock band was bigger than Cream. Labeled (perhaps unfairly, to their ultimate detriment) as the first “super group,” the trio of Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker were certainly a volatile combination. Actually, Bruce and Baker were the ones who couldn’t get along with each other, an issue that predated the band by several years, when both were unknowns in the thriving London jazz and blues scene.

So in 1969, with the band now defunct, Bruce released his first solo album, Songs For a Tailor, which included his most famous song (outside of Cream), “Theme For An Imaginary Western.” The melancholy track was the fitting tribute for what happened next; the album peaked at #55 on the charts, while Clapton and Baker’s new band, Blind Faith, released an album (the only one, it turned out) that topped the charts for two weeks that September.

Trivia: “Theme” was covered by Mountain at the original Woodstock festival and was featured on their debut album the following year.

Joe Walsh and Barnstorm
“Rocky Mountain Way”
From The Smoker You Drink, The Player You Get (1973)

Representative lyric:

“And we don’t need the ladies
Crying ’cause the story’s sad, uh huh
Rocky Mountain Way
Is better than the way we had”

Joe Walsh got his start with Cleveland-based James Gang, a power trio whose first three albums are considered classics by students of the genre. A few tracks, namely “Funk #49” and “Walk Away” are still classic rock radio staples (not to mention at Eagles concerts years later after Walsh replaced Bernie Leadon). Unhappy about having to shoulder the load of being the vocalist as well as sole guitarist (not to mention primary composer), Walsh quit the Gang and ended up in Colorado to ponder his next move.

Starting fresh with a new band named “Barnstorm,” Walsh wrote “Rocky Mountain Way” about the freedom he felt not being constrained by the limitations of his old band. Unfortunately, he eventually felt victim to the strain of being “on his own,” so when the Eagles offered him a place in the band two years later, he happily accepted.

Trivia: “Rocky Mountain Way” was the first hit featuring the “talk box,” a device later made famous by Peter Frampton and Bon Jovi, among others.

Peter Gabriel
“Solsbury Hill”
From Peter Gabriel (1977)

Representative lyric:

“So I went from day to day
Though my life was in a rut
Till I thought of what I’d say
And which connection I should cut”

Genesis, in its original incarnation, was a cult band. A large one. Toe tappers like “The Return of the Giant Hogweed,” “The Battle of Epping Forrest” and the epic 23-minute “Supper’s Ready” all but guaranteed that they weren’t played with any regularity on rock radio; the band made mark on stage. Which meant life in the band was a Groundhog Day of writing, recording, rehearsing and touring. Vocalist Peter Gabriel was the face (and figurehead) of Genesis for the first half of the 1970s, and midway through the decade when he needed to call time for family health purposes, it looked like it was all over for the prog band.

While no ill will occurred between the members during the transition, when Gabriel stepped away from the band, and in true musical chairs fashion drummer Phil Collins stepped up the microphone and the show went on. Both acts – the Collins-fronted Genesis as well as solo Gabriel quickly eclipsed the success of the original band in terms of sales as well as airplay. Peter Gabriel’s first album, released two years after his exit, contained “Solsbury Hill,” featuring (mostly) an unusual 7/4 time signature, was his musical account of walking away from Genesis. No word came from his former bandmates, at least until Phil Collin’s memoir was released in late 2016.

Trivia: Peter Gabriel’s first three albums were all titled “Peter Gabriel.” Fans have differentiated them by nicknames; “Car,” “Scratch” and “Melt” due to the artwork.

Tommy Shaw
“Lonely School”
From Girls With Guns (1984)

Representative lyric:

“I’ve changed so many of my ways
I left the band, steadied my hand, learned a trade”

In the late 1970s, it was hard to find a band larger (or more popular) than Styx. After slugging it out for over a decade, the Chicago-based outfit finally hit the big time with The Grand Illusion in 1977. Illusion and the three albums that followed (Pieces of Eight, Cornerstone and Paradise Theatre) each sold more than three million albums, being the first band to achieve this sales figure consistently. But in 1983, leader Dennis DeYoung’s dramatic concept album conceit, Kilroy Was Here alienated the fans and created resentment from other members, notably guitarist Tommy Shaw.

At one point during the Kilroy tour cycle, Shaw was said to have “hurt his hand on a hotel room window, resulting in the postponement or cancellation of several shows. (Note to any budding publicists reading this: No rock star has EVER hurt his hand on a hotel room window. Just tell the truth – he was increasingly unhappy and drowned his sorrows with copious amounts of booze and blow, and locked himself in his hotel room, only allowing in his pusher, room service and selected groupies to enter.) Anyway – on his second solo single after leaving Styx, Shaw told the musical story of his frame of mind after his departure. Although Girls With Guns with a moderate success, all of Shaw’s subsequent solo releases went nowhere.

Trivia: After the failure of his third solo album, Shaw bounced back with the 1990 super group Damn Yankees, featuring Ted Nugent, Jack Blades and Michael Cartellone.

Steve Perry
“Running Alone”
From Street Talk (1984)

Representative lyric:

“Everyone’s a hero, if you want to be
Everyone’s a prisoner, holding their own key
Every step I take, every move I make
Always one step closer, I don’t mind running alone”

Like Styx, Journey was a hugely popular act in the late 1970s into the mid 1980s, with hit singles, platinum albums and huge concert tours. Despite outward appearances, by the end of 1983’s Frontiers tour, the core of Journey was rotten. How much of that was due to vocalist Steve Perry – a singer with the reputation of being difficult to deal with (to put it mildly) – is unclear, but for all intents and purposes the band had splintered by that time. So Perry, unsure whether to continue on with Journey or go solo, asked his mother, Mary Perry for council. (She’s “Mary” who is referenced in the song.)

So, Perry went ahead and released his hugely successful Street Talk album (remember “Oh Sherrie?”), and mom, not wanting to steer her darling boy wrong, advised him to return to the band that made him famous. Perry did so, but took dictator-like control of the next album, Raised on Radio, and kicked out long-time drummer Steve Smith and founding member, bassist Ross Valory in the process. Radio proved to the swan song for the band; Perry walked away at the end of the tour in early 1987. He released a second solo album in 1994 and even reformed Journey in 1996 for a new album, but in a déjà vu moment, he walked away, leaving the group in limbo once again. Little has been heard from him in subsequent years; he has truly become the Howard Hughes of the classic rock era.

Trivia: Journey’s “Don’t Stop Belivin’” is the largest-selling digital single from the pre-digital music era.

Eh, hoser, you think you know a thing or three about Canadian rock?

If you’re only familiar with the platinum artists like Rush, Bachman Turner Overdrive, Triumph and Loverboy, then you’re for sure missing out on scores of B-level (and C, D and E- level, all the way down to Zed-level) artists from the Great White North. Canada has been a fertile ground for delivering classic artists since the 1960s. Early pioneers include the critic’s darlings Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Robbie Robertson and Gordon Lightfoot, among many others.

One thing about Canadian rock is that there is a great musical variety. (But technically isn’t that the case everywhere?) OK, so the music scene is no better or worse in Canada than anywhere else. (It’s just colder up there and they drink more beer.) That said, the artists that broke through at some level and filtered south were a diverse bunch: There were pop/rock one-hit wonders (Glass Tiger)*, hard rock posers (Aldo Nova), sensitive singer/songwriters (Sarah McLachlan), early MTV synth-pop favorites (Men Without Hats), bands with names that mean nothing except to the most geographically-sophisticated Americans (Chilliwack), singers who never surrender the right to wear their sunglasses at night (Corey Hart) as well as dreadful artists you’re sorry you ever heard of because psycho ex-girlfriends found life-altering meaning in the lyrics and ended up stalking you (Alanis Morissette).

Wow. So today, let’s talk about three songs that made some noise in the lower 48. Unfortunately, these acts weren’t able to deke it out with their American and British counterparts and become household names. Funny thing about radio airplay (at least back then); many stations didn’t play these types of bands during daylight hours, but slotted them in later, after 9 pm or so. I have memories listening to these musical Canuks on my local radio station (WRKI I-95, Brookfield, CT – the home of rock and roll!), late at night with headphones, all while dreading the math test I had to take the next morning, no doubt.

So put on your toque, grab a Tim Horton’s donut and a double/double, put a two-four of Molson in the snow and head’r to the Great White North!

*I don’t want to instigate a kerfuffle, but, I know Glass Tiger had more than one hit. But I defy you to name any of their songs besides “Don’t Forget Me (When I’m Gone)!”

Red Rider –“ Lunatic Fringe”
From As Far As Siam

Led by guitarist/vocalist Tom Cochrane, Red Rider achieved considerable fame in Canada, but never made it beyond cult status down here. Between 1979 and 1984, the original band released four albums, each of which spawned at least one tune that had some success south of the border. Red Rider’s enduring song, “Lunatic Fringe” which is included on the 1981 release, As Far As Siam, is a cautionary tale about the rise of anti-Semitism.

After the initial success following its release, “Lunatic Fringe” showed it still had some life left in it, judging from its inclusion in the television series “Miami Vice” as well as the 1985 film “Vision Quest.” “Lunatic Fringe” remains a staple of classic rock radio to this day.

Trivia: Red Rider bassist Jeff Jones was a member of a pre-Geddy Lee version of Rush in 1968, playing alongside guitarist Alex Lifeson and original Rush drummer John Rutsey.

(Self serving) trivia: I saw Red Rider open for The Kinks at Madison Square Garden in the early 1980s.

Prism – “Don’t Let Him Know”
From Small Change

Prism started life as an obscure band in the mid-1970s, and pretty much spent its entire career in that zone, in America, at least. The band had several albums to their credit, but never broke through. They brushed the top 100 on a few occasions, most notably with “Don’t Let Him Know” (co-written by a then-unknown Bryan Adams), which just made it into the Top 40, peaking at #39 in early 1982.

Tragically, lead singer Ron Tabak died in late 1984, putting an end to the band’s career. One of the founding members, Bruce Fairbairn, made a name for himself as the producer for many of the era’s best-selling albums, working with artists including Loverboy (Loverboy, Get Lucky, Keep It Up), Bon Jovi (Slippery When Wet, New Jersey), Aerosmith (Permanent Vacation, Pump, Get A Grip), AC/DC (The Razor’s Edge, AC/DC Live), Scorpions (Face The Heat), Van Halen (Balance) and many, many more. Another Prism alum, Jim Vallance, became Bryan Adam’s songwriting partner, penning most of Adam’s best-known songs. Vallance also co-authored a few later-day Aerosmith classics (isn’t “later-day Aerosmith classic” an oxymoron?), most notably “Rag Doll.”

Trivia: “Don’t Let Him Know” was fellow Canadian Bryan Adam’s first involvement with a record that made the Billboard Top 40 Singles chart.

(Art major) trivia: The artwork for both the Small Change album and the single featured Norman Rockwell’s 1954 painting, Girl at Mirror. Rockwell didn’t live to see this appropriation of his work; he died five years before its release.

April Wine – “Sign Of The Gypsy Queen”
From Nature Of The Beast

April Wine was Canada’s version of Boston, a quintet that delivered hook-filled melodic hard rock music with plenty of guitars and vocal harmonies. Like so many of their fellow Canadians, they were huge in their native land, but only had minimal success in the States. Best known for the power ballad “Just Between You And Me,” the Miles Goodwyn-fronted unit also scored an FM radio hit with “Sign Of The Gypsy Queen,” which, like “Between,” was taken from 1981’s Nature Of The Beast.

The band slugged it out for a few more years before Goodwyn called time and ended up in the Bahamas. After spending a few years sipping tropical drinks on the beach and missing the business, he traded the sun-soaked island for the tundra life once again and now divides his time between performing with a reformed April Wine and his solo career, along with his side hustle of composing film scores.

Trivia: “Sign Of The Gypsy Queen” was one of the few April Wine songs not composed by Goodwyn. It was written by Lorence Hud. (Who?)

(Naming) trivia: The two words that comprise the band’s name don’t have any special meaning; the band simply felt they “sounded good together.”  For sure!

Sure, I’m more of a hard rock and metal guy, but do possess the ability to appreciate a classic pop song when I hear it. It’s all about the hook, melody and performance, and in some cases, the music video. Today, I discuss three hits that contain all of the above elements. And in two cases here (NOT Chicago, however), the videos are state-of-the-art.

So here are three #1 pop hits of the 1980s I’ve always liked. All of them have staying power, as aptly demonstrated by continued airplay on adult contemporary radio and/or successful cover versions.

Roxette – Listen To Your Heart
Look Sharp! (1988)
#1 for one week – 10/29/1989 through 11/4/1989

Sometimes the Swedes can do what others can’t. For one thing, they (like Switzerland) were able to stay the hell out of the way of World War II (for the most part). And if they didn’t invent the affordable-chic Euro assemble-it-yourself furniture superstore that also serves meatballs in gravy, they sure did a fine job of stealing and running with the idea. And finally, they produce the only fish that American children will eat.

But as far as music is concerned, it’s entirely another story. Apart from ABBA and Europe (that’s Europe the band, as in “The Final Countdown”), Swedish music has been avoided like husmanskost by those of us in America. But apparently in the underside of Scandinavia, there has always been a thriving music scene. Problem is, most of what happens in Sweden stays in Sweden. (When was the last time you heard E-Type on the American airwaves? Me neither.) Predictably, Roxette, a male/female duo that consisted of songwriter/guitarist/sometimes vocalist Per Gessle and vocalist Marie Fredriksson (and their great hair) were having trouble getting noticed outside of the polar region.

As the story goes, Look Sharp!, Roxette’s second album was brought home by an expat college student, he gave it to a friend at a Midwest radio station and the rest is history. Four hit singles (two #1s, a #2 and a #14) were issued from a platinum-selling disc that the American division of the record company initially declined to release over here, declaring the material “unsuitable” for consumption in the States. So much for the experts being experts.

The third single, a power ballad called “Listen To Your Heart” was a tour de force in both hooks and by the powerhouse vocal performance by Fredriksson. Equally stunning was the Doug Freel-directed video, shot in Sweden’s Borgholm Castle, featuring a barefooted Fredriksson belting it out in a skintight dress. Fortunately, Roxette was able to capitalize on this success, releasing several more high-charting singles over the next couple of years, including two more North American #1 hits.

(Slightly) interesting fact: “Listen To Your Heart” was the first Billboard #1 single NOT released on a 7” vinyl record in America. (Remember the “cassette single?”)

(Slightly less) interesting fact: There are three distinct versions of “Listen” – the original album version, the European single and the remixed American single. And that’s not counting live versions released through the years.

Chicago – Hard To Say I’m Sorry
Chicago 16 (1982)
#1 for two weeks – 9/5/1982 through 9/18/1982

Chicago was one of the biggest rock acts of the 1970s. Between 1967-1977, the original septet released eleven albums (nine studio, one live, one hits), all of which reached the top six (top six?) except for the first one. As far as huge albums and singles go, Chicago was right up there with Paul McCartney, Elton John and the Moody Blues, delivering one of the more impressive winning streaks of the era.

Then things went terribly wrong very quickly. In early 1978, guitarist Terry Kath died of an accidental self-inflicted gunshot, and even though the band carried with a replacement (albeit an ill-fitting replacement), sales dried up. By the time Chicago XIV was released in 1980, it peaked at #71, spawned zero hit singles and was their first album that failed to go gold. Adding injury to insult, the record company then dumped the band. (But it issued Chicago XV – a second hits package – shortly thereafter.) The 1970s were history – it was a great run, but life goes on. Maybe it’s still not too late to go back to school.

So in 1982, a Chicago comeback looked as improbable as a Cubs World Series win. Yet, under the tutelage of star maker David Foster, the predictably-titled Chicago 16 (apparently a new decade meant ditching the roman numerals) charted in the top ten and the first single, “Hard To Say I’m Sorry” climbed to the top of the single charts.

For better or worse, the song changed the course of the band. Chicago went on to a successful second act starting with “Sorry;” The next three years saw five more singles peak in the top 20, until bassist/vocalist Peter Cetera bolted for a solo career in 1985. His absence did nothing to slow down the gravy train; the band continued to release hit singles until the end of the decade before becoming a legacy band for once and for all. History does not record whether “Hard To Say I’m Sorry” benefited from placement in the long-forgotten 1982 film “Summer Lovers.”

Bonnie Tyler – Total Eclipse Of The Heart
Faster Than The Speed Of Night (1983)
#1 for four weeks – 9/25/1983 through 10/22/1983

Prior to 1983, Bonnie Tyler, a Welsh singer with a Rod Stewart-style rasp, was considered a one-hit wonder, based on the country-tinged #3 hit “It’s A Heartache” from 1978. Once the single faded from the airwaves, Tyler seemed to be consigned to the club that included contemporaries Nick Gilder, Debbie Boone and Alicia Bridges.

Fast forward to 1982: Tyler, looking to increase her rock cred (or maybe just to try to make a few bucks), hooked up with songwriter Jim Steinman, who was looking for a new voice to replace the no-longer-relevant Meat Loaf. Plotting for her next album, Steinman dictated that several rock covers be included (Blue Oyster Cult, CCR, Ian Hunter) along with some contemporary offerings and two Steinman originals. The most famous one, “Total Eclipse Of The Heart” clocked in at a lengthy seven minutes (although an edit was released as a single.)

Despite topping the chart, subsequent efforts to continue the momentum proved fleeting. Tyler was only able to graze the top 40 one more time with 1984’s “Holding Out For A Hero” from the “Footloose” soundtrack. But her legacy will always be “Total Eclipse Of The Heart.” Truth of the matter is that I could do without the “turn around, bright eyes” part, but that’s an integral part of the song. Sure, there are plenty of better singers out there than Bonnie Tyler, but when she gets to “I really need you tonight, forever’s gonna start tonight” at the end of the song, she’s singing like her life depends on it. Something that very few can do. An admirable trait.

For some bizarre reason, in the mid/late 1980s, a series of one-off male/female duets topped the singles charts in America right around Thanksgiving. Three years in a row; 1985 -1987, no less. What does that say about the 1980s? What does it all mean? Probably nothing.

Duets are a funny thing. In most cases, it’s a one-off attempt to pair two stars hoping for a hit song bigger than either artist could attain on his/her own. (“Enough is Enough,” anybody?) It usually ends up being a terrible song that brings out the worst in both artists (if that’s entirely possible). It also usually has a sum of less than all the parts. And if it’s successful, it ultimately ends up on “Time Life presents hits of the 1980s” box set infomercials hosted by Air Supply.

So carve the turkey, pass the mashed potatoes and cue up some duets!

“Separate Lives” (1985)
Phil Collins & Marilyn Martin
From The Movie “White Nights”

In 1985, it was hard to find a star bigger than Phil Collins He had a hell of a year: It started out with a duet with Phillip Bailey (“Easy Lover”) that peaked at #2 on the charts. (Damn that Foreigner band and “I Want To Know What Love Is”), followed by his No Jacket Required monster album, three more top ten singles. (Two of which hit #1.) He also guested on “Miami Vice,” performed at Live Aid (both the London and Philadelphia concerts) and produced and played on Eric Clapton’s Behind The Sun. (OK, the guy was a workaholic and no wonder he’s thrice divorced, so read his memoir Not Dead Yet to find out all the sordid details.)

After the third No Jacket Required single (“Billy Don’t Lose My Number”), he released a non-Jacket song – a duet with Marilyn Martin (who?) from the overly-long Taylor Hackford film, “White Nights.” (Actually, the phrase “overly-long Taylor Hackford film” is redundant.) I did see the movie in college; the only thing I remember about the film was Baryshnikov attempting to flush his passport down the airplane toilet when he realized the plane was going to make an emergency landing in the Soviet Union. (Ah, the Reagan years.)

“Lives” became of the first of two #1 hits from “White Nights” – “Say You, Say Me” by Lionel Richie occupied the top slot a few weeks later. But things just got bigger and better for Phil: His No Jacket Required album lobbed off another hit (“Take Me Home”) and by the time “Lives” topped the chart, he was busy working on Genesis’ Invisible Touch album, which would have hit after hit released from it. (Not to mention two more #1 hits from “Buster,” another solo success, another Genesis album…)

As for Marilyn Martin, she got the “John Parr” treatment in the music world – both artists had a huge soundtrack song and one lesser hit and all future attempts never went anywhere commercially. She released a solo album the following year and had a minor hit with “Night Moves” (not the Bob Seger song), coincidentally co-written by the aforementioned John Parr. Today, she’s a full-time realtor in Nashville and pursues music on the side.

Fun fact: “Separate Lives” was not a Phil Collins original; it was written by Stephen Bishop. Bishop, a songwriter and performer, had a few minor hits in the 1970s; however he best remembered for being the “Charming Guy With Guitar” in 1978’s “National Lampoon’s Animal House” who drew the ire of John Belushi’s Bluto character.

“Next Time I Fall” (1986)
Peter Cetera & Amy Grant
From The Album Solitude/Solitaire

Traveling further down this awful road, you’ll find 1986’s contribution to the duet process. Freshly departed from the high-flying Chicago (and newly-minted solo artist) Peter Cetera followed up his #1 hit “The Glory of Love” (from “The Karate Kid II”) with another #1, “The Next Time I Fall.” His duet partner was Christian pop vocalist Amy Grant, who was attempting to break into the (far more lucrative) secular music market.

The result was another hit for Cetera and the introduction of Amy Grant to mainstream pop America. This cumulated (five years later) in Grant’s “Baby Baby,” perhaps the worst #1 of the era. (And that includes hits by Paula Abdul and MC Hammer.) The less said about Amy Grant, the better!

“(I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life” (1987)
Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes
From The Movie “Dirty Dancing”

Worse of all was “(I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life” from 1987’s “Dirty Dancing.” Performed by Bill Medley (50% of The Righteous Brothers) and Jennifer Warnes (who had a 1982 duet hit with Joe Cocker), the song (along with the move and its soundtrack) became a huge hit in the Fall of 1987.

For some strange reason, the entire “Dirty Dancing” phenomenon (remember that?) had staying power and became a bigger deal than anybody could’ve anticipated. Fortunately, I never saw it in its prime. (Reminds me that I never saw the Broadway play “Cats” either. A girl I was dating in college in the 1980s wanted to take me to see it – now and forever – on my birthday, but mercifully we had a fight and we ended up not going. There IS a God!!)

But one unfortunate night the following year or so, I was doing nothing on a Saturday night and noticed that “Dirty Dancing” was on one of the cable channels (Showtime or Cinemax, I imagine) at my parent’s house (where I was living at the time), so I opted to watch the movie.  The only reason was because it had such an impact on popular culture that I felt I should see it to understand what everybody was talking about, but also because there was nothing else going on that particular Saturday night.

Unfortunately, the movie was so “lowest common denominator” and totally dumbed down by piling on cliché upon cliché that I never forgave myself for watching it. Ugh, that was 100 minutes of my life that I’ll never get back. Worse – there were a few more hits (“Hungry Eyes” and a second act of “Do You Love Me?)” from the film. The torture took a long time to go away.

Great music and movies go together like, well, great music and movies. More than a few of the most iconic songs of the rock era began life as soundtrack music, including “Rock Around the Clock,” “Help!” and “Eye Of The Tiger,” among many, many others.

Of course, there are some bad movies with great music (“Maximum Overdrive”), great movies with bad music (“Dirty Harry”) as well as great movies with great music (“Rocky”). There are plenty of bad movies with bad music – I’m sure the 1991 version of “Robin Hood” starring Kevin Costner, the stiffest actor this side of Terry Kiser in “Weekend At Bernie’s” was just as dismal as the Bryan Adams hit it spawned. (Unless you happened to be in a coma in most of 1991, you know what I mean.)

One of the most effective places to put a centerpiece song is at the outset of the film, right before the credits roll, or perhaps during. (Sorry kids, but Celine Dion didn’t invent that trick in “Titanic.”) You figure people have just sat through the entire film, so why not give them the hit song they’ve all been waiting for? So, without having to sit through a two-hour move, here are three effective film-closing tracks:

The Graduate (1967)
The Sound of Silence (Simon & Garfunkel)

The Graduate is one of those movies either you love or you don’t get it. It stars a not-so-young Dustin Hoffman (aged 30!) as the confused and naïve college graduate who has an affair with the much older Mrs. Robinson. The entire Robinson affair (mainly the hotel room picture) has become an iconic part of American 1960s culture.

The song “The Sound of Silence” has an unusual history. Originally recorded and released in 1964, it was a dismal failure. With no input from Simon & Garfunkel (who had ceased working together after the “lack of success” – a mere 3000 copies sold- of their first album), the song was “beefed up” with additional musicians and rereleased in late 1965, and it become the first #1 hit of 1966.

In the 1960s, it wasn’t common practice to use a “catalog” song in a movie. Further oddities abound here; the same song also serves as the intro music in the movie. And to mess with our heads some more, in some instances it is referred to as “The Sounds of Silence” while in others as “The Sound of Silence.” And just to be further annoyed, the closing track is a heavily-edited version of the song.

Long after “The Graduate,” “Sound” (or is it “Sounds?”)  still had some life left in it; in 2016, heavy metal band Disturbed had a surprise hit with a cover of “The Sound of Silence.” It was 49 years after “The Graduate” and 52 years after it was first recorded.

Repo Man (1984)
Reel Ten (The Plugz)

One of the greatest movies of the 1980s, certainly an all-time cult classic. “Repo Man” starred a pre-Brat Pack Emilio Estevez as a directionless punk rocker turned ace repo man. Like “The Graduate,” you tended ether to love it or not understand it at all. Life of a repo man is ALWAYS intense!

The Plugz were a Latino punk band from Los Angeles, whose biggest claim to fame is for the Repo Man soundtrack. (Their Spanish language version of “Secret Agent Man” – “Hombre Secreto” – is featured earlier in the film.) Unfortunately, the band wasn’t able to capitalize on any notoriety from “Repo Man:” The band broke up right around the time the movie was released.

I remember sitting around with my friends having a few beers and watching this movie every couple of months. The movie never gets old. And I’m STILL fining new stuff I’ve never noticed before!

Less Than Zero (1987)
Life Fades Away (Roy Orbison)

One of the bleakest movies of the 1980s had one of the most slamming soundtracks. Where else could Slayer, Aerosmith, Poison, Joan Jett and The Bangles, among others, peacefully coexist? “Less Than Zero” was a slice of life of the extremely rich and decedent post-high school crowd.

There are several highlights on the soundtrack, but the best is the film’s closing number, “Life Fades Away.” Written by the odd couple of Roy Orbison and Glenn Danzig, the haunting song provided the perfect sonic thrills for the end of “Less Than Zero.”

Tragically, Orbison died on December 6, 1988, exactly 13 months to the day after “Zero” hit the big screen. Eerily enough, the song’s opening lyrics proved to be chillingly prophetic:

My time has come, the clouds are calling
December wind has come my way
And now I feel the will falling
All at once it’s too late
Life fades away

Honorable mention:

The Good, The Bad and the Ugly (1966)
The Ecstasy of Gold (Ennio Morricone)

Although it wasn’t played in the final scene or over the credits, Ennio Morricone soundtrack for “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly” must, by law, be mentioned here. In the “Ecstasy of Gold” scene, disparate audio and visual merged into something greater to the sum of the parts. Cinema at its finest! (That sounds pretentious and overly serious, doesn’t it?)

The 1980s were a LOUD decade, at least rhythmically. So let’s all blame Phil Collins. (Actually, let’s NOT blame him, because it’s not ALL his fault.) Phil Collins is credited for inventing the “gated reverb” drum sound (ironically it was first performed by Collins, but on Peter Gabriel’s third solo album), because it was his single “In The Air Tonight” from 1981’s Face Value (revived in 1985 by plays on Miami Vice) that brought it to the mainstream. Due to that success, along with the proliferation of the Linn Drum in the mid-1980s (look for a future post on that instrument), the drums often became the loudest instrument in many of the era’s classic songs.

Loud drums you say? Two early examples were “Modern Love” (1983) by David Bowie and “Some Like It Hot” (1985) by The Power Station, both of which were performed by the late Tony Thompson. By 1985, even veteran guitar-based acts (Heart – Heart, Eric Clapton – Behind The Sun, Cheap Trick – Standing On The Edge) were releasing albums that stepped up the drum effects (and synths) to bring the sound up to date.

So by October 1986, it was commonplace for drums to be brought up high in the mix. Here are three examples of artists who had seen massive success in the past, but now were struggling to stay relevant by injecting steroids into the drums:

Quiet Riot – The Wild And The Young

After years of L.A. area gigs (and no US record deal), the only notoriety Quiet Riot received was that their star guitarist was poached by Ozzy Osbourne for his post-Black Sabbath gig. (If you don’t know that saga, you really shouldn’t be reading my blog!) Finally getting a break in 1983, the band’s Metal Health album topped the charts, fueled by the turbo-charged Slade cover “Cum On Feel The Noize.” Any goodwill the band got for being the underdog quickly evaporated when vocalist Kevin DuBrow started mouthing off about fellow bands, his contract and pretty much everything else, and the band’s followup album (Condition Critical) sounded like the outtakes from Metal Health. (And included a second Slade cover as the lead single.)

QR’s bassist Rudy Sarzo bailed and fans, contemporaries and even the band’s label turned on them; the band was put on double secret probation by its record label. An attempt to regain composure by becoming more “contemporary” backfired; the resulting album QR III (when in doubt, name your album with a number) flopped. DuBrow was canned shortly thereafter; Quiet Riot has lived on, in one form or another, almost continuously since then.

Billy Squier – Love Is The Hero

For his first release after “videogate” (his misguided 1984 “Rock Me Tonight” video not only sank his career, but was often derided as the worst music video EVER), Billy Squier came back two years later with this drum-heavy rocker, featuring the backing vocals of one Freddie Mercury. In a pre-production meeting for the album, his label insisted his sound become “more contemporary.”

A new producer (Peter Collins, known for his work with Rush and Queensryche) was brought in, and listening to the track today, the label’s request was met. Unfortunately, both the single and album stiffed and Squier’s career as a hitmaker, over.

Chicago – 25 or 6 to 4 (1986 Remake)

Like Quiet Riot and Billy Squier, Chicago found itself in a hole by 1986. After a decade plus-long reign at the top, the band was considered dinosaurs by the early 1980s. A musical makeover turned the once-progressive outfit into slick hit makers, courtesy of producer David Foster. Following a string of huge singles between 1982 and 1985, bassist Peter Cetera – the voice (and face) of all those hits – abruptly quit the band after the successful Chicago 17 tour and launched a successful (for a while, anyway) solo career.

Bassist/vocalist Jason Scheff, all of 24 years old – was hired as Cetera’s vocal doppelgänger and Chicago soldiered on with the creatively-titled Chicago 18. However, in an attempt to bridge the old and the new, the first single by the reconstituted band was a drum-heavy remake of its classic “25 or 6 to 4” – originally a hit in 1970. Although the new version stalled at #48, the band was able to continue its winning streak with subsequent singles, at least for a few more years.